Sea Magick
by kellie-rose
Summary: Adina thought that her recent move to Gull Cove was one of the greatest decisions she had ever made. Then manatee at Timmicuan Bay washed up on shore. Now she, and the entire town, must face the wrath of the merrow that protected it. Will she stop him?
1. Prologue

**Sea Magick: **

**_A Tale of the Deep._**

**Prologue.**

**

* * *

**

A long time ago, there was a people that believed in magic and legends. They spoke of a race from the seas, of a group of half-humans, half-fish. These people went by various names across the world. The Irish called them Merrows, the Greek called them Tritons. These myths still exist, but are now put off as faery tales, as pure imaginations. Today, we would call these people Merfolk. They are guardians of the sea and can be quite fierce to humans. Most stay pout of the way of humans, hiding in reefs or even disguising themselves as manatees or dugongs. One preferred disguise that they used to use was the Stellar Sea Cow. But then they were hunted by sailors and had to abandon that idea. Some of them protect certain animals. There is one such race of Merrows that protects manatees. They try to move them out of the way of boat motors, but often are too late in moving the heavy animals. The blood mixes with their tears. The more manatees are injured, the angrier they become. Humans take heed, their vengeance is swift.

* * *

A cloud of red polluted the brackish water, swirling and mixing in the current. He watched, his eyes narrowed, as the manatee was hit on its already scared back. She was an old cow, having survived a great many accidents. But this was bad, the cut was deep, the blood pouring out was too much for her to loose. The boat, of course, just moved on, the person not bothering to check what he had hit. The merman swam swiftly through the water, trying to drag the cow to the shore where she could get the medical help of one of the humans up there, but it was no use. He was too late. She sank to the shallow bottom, slowly giving up on her own life. He poked his head up, trying to catch a glimpse of the human's boat that had done this, but the man was already getting out of the water, towing the boat up on a metal... thing. Diving back under, the merrow headed back to the near-by colony, but not before first leaving a token of respect by the cow's body-- his shark-tooth choker. It was his most prized possession, having won it off a shark that he had to fight in order to become initiated as a guardian. With his jaw set hard, he headed off to the colony to gain permission to go up on land. This human would pay.


	2. Chapter 1

**Sea Magic:**

**A Tale of the Deep**

**Chapter One**

**

* * *

**

Adina watched the soothing pink waves rock back and forth in the setting sun, over joyed by the fact that she now called this place home. "This place" was a sleepy, fishing village off the coast of Florida called Gull Cove. It was a half-hour ferry ride from Atlantic Beach, Florida. She dug her toes into the moist, grainy sand and leaned back in her plastic beach chair. There was no one around to disrupt the tranquil peace of the early December evening.

Something was bobbing up and down in the waves, catching her attention. At first she thought that it was a dolphin or some sort of marine life, but then she saw the cerulean board pop out of a wave with a dark- haired surfer attached to it. Adina frowned, upset that her peace had been disturbed. She watched the surfer catch a small wave, maneuvering about skillfully. He was really quite good, she mused, daftly tugging on a strand of brassy hair. He plunged into the fifty-something degree water and emerged, shaking out the lanks of long hair. His hair was the color of driftwood that had been soaking for months at sea, with lighter shades of highlight the color of sea oats. From where she sat, she could see that he was actually quite good looking, with his Roman-esque face and bronze skin. And he was coming up out of the water, right in her direction, the board tucked under one arm while he unzipped his wetsuit with his free hand, revealing a body better suited for an Olympian God.

_Stop it!_ she mentally chided herself, dropping her eyes to the pale sand. She shouldn't let herself think such thoughts. For all she knew he could have a girlfriend and not be interested in some loner like herself. Adina shifted her eyes back out to the water, watching as something poked its head out from the waves.

"It's a dolphin!" She exclaimed loudly just as the surf god walked past her.

"Pardon?" He asked, backing up to get a better look at her.

Adina, who hadn't realized that she had spoken out loud, blushed and pointed out to where the gunmetal grey head was poking out of the water. "Dolphin."

"Oh!" The surfer laughed, giving her a lop-sided grin. "Yeah, that's Wilson, he's my surfing buddy." Surf god waved to the dolphin before sticking his board in the sand and plopping down next to Adina. "So, I haven't seen you around these parts before."

"That would be because I just moved here," she explained burrowing her feet further into the sand. She felt awkward actually talking to an attractive member of the opposite sex.

"That's cool," he said. "I'm Alex."

"Adina." She introduced herself, holding out her hand.

"That's a pretty name." She blushed deeper. "So what brings you to Gull Cove?"

Adina had been anticipating this question since she signed the lease on her house, but that didn't stop her from taking a minute to remember why exactly she did move here. She couldn't help it-- cute guys just left her flabbergasted. "Well," she began, "I'm from Jacksonville originally, but every summer when I was little, my family brought me here for a week. I was just so enamored by the town that I decided that when I graduated from college I would live here."

"I can dig that," Alex said, nodding. "Well, it was really nice to meet you, but I have work in like ten minutes, so I gotta run."

She watched him as he got up, removing his board from the sand, and ran up the beach.

"A pleasure," she whispered into the wind.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_The waves crashed angrily as a figure emerged from the water, his eyes glowing in the moonlight. Slowly, his legs changed, going from scaly and vaguely fin-like to normal human legs. What looked like a fish-tale slowly shrunk until it was no more. Adina watched curiously from her plastic beach chair, unable to take her eyes from him. There was some sort of blade gripped tightly in his webbed fingers. It looked like it was made from coral. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of what he planned to do with that weapon. Somehow she knew that she was safe from him. There was a vague familiarity about him, like she had seen him before. _

Adina woke up in a cold sweat, the sheets wrapped tightly around her body. That dream. It was the second time that she had had that dream. The man was indeed very familiar to her. The memory of him conjured flashed of childhood summers playing on the beach with her invisible friend. At least her parents told her he was invisible. Eventually, she gave in, not wanting to be forced into therapy. But she never told anyone that he was real. She still kept the shark-tooth necklace he had made for her at the bottom of her jewelry box.

Something compelled her out of bed and over to it. She had to dig through all her crap jewelry to find it hidden in a velvet box. It felt good to hold it loosely draped across her fingers. She clasped into place around her neck, surprised to find that it still fit, even if it was as a choker. Then, still unsure what had come over her, she changed into her swimsuit and pulled her hair into a loose, but elegant bun. After grabbing her long camel colored trench coat, she set out into the night, padding softly down the street to the beach.

The water called to her, invited her to take a dip, despite the frigid temperatures. She shrugged out of the coat and skipped up to the waves, some childish side taking over inside of her. It was great, acting like this, running from the waves and then chasing them back out. Eventually, she tired, though, and stopped, wading in the chilly water while the waves lapped her ankles. Something brushed past her ankle. It was slimy with sharp scales that almost cut her. Thinking it was just a fish, she ignored it. But then it did it again. This time it tickled, though, so she still ignored it, still under the pretense that it was harmless. Until it grabbed her.

Adina screamed softly, thrashing about in the water, trying to shake the beastly hand off of her. She ran out of the water, the cold finally setting into her bones, wondering what the heck she was doing out there. What had gotten into her? She felt something on her neck and looked down, seeing the necklace thst she had recieved in her early childhood. Adina had no recollection of putting it on. Shaking from more than just the cold, she picked up her now ruined coat and headed back to her house.

* * *

He watched from a distance as the woman played in the water. She reminded him of someone he used to know, the only human he trusted. What had ever happened to that little girl he didn't care. She had grown up and stopped believing in him, had become like the rest. He hadn't physically been on land since the last time he saw her. Anger boiled in his veins, heating it to the point that he had to do _some_thing to release it. This would no doubt be a quick mission. He would bring down a punishment on those undeserving humans that would have them thinking it was the end of times. He sent a grindylow to get her out of the water, giving him plenty of privacy to leave his home one last time.

But just as she was jumping around, trying to rid herself of the grindylow, he saw something he never thought he would see again. The necklace.


End file.
